Gunner
Gunner (birth name Uluch Assan,) is a sailor and mercenary who is famous/infamous for being the best marksman in the Seven Satrapies, be it with a musket or a cannon. In his first appearance, he nearly managed to hit Kip Guile, Prism Gavin Guile, Blackguard Commander Ironfist, and Liv Danavis' boat from five hundred paces away. During the War Of The Prisms, Gunner fought as a freelancer, sometimes for Gavin, sometimes for Dazen, sometimes for any captain who could pay him. Gavin described him as " a drunk and a scoundrel and the finest artist of the cannon in the Seven Satrapies." Early in his career, at the age of 16, his ship, the Fire Breather, became the first and only ship in living memory to kill a full-grown sea demon. Aside from his marksmanship skill, it appears that he also has some mechanical expertise with designing and building weapons (possibly learned in Ilyta, which is known for the same.) In most cases, the muskets he shoots are ones that he has made himself. Personality Gunner has a flamboyant personality, but seems to flip between 'fun' crazy and 'I'mma kill you' crazy with no warning whatsoever. Unstable at best, Gunner loves battle, games of chance, and testing his skills with munitions of any kind. There is only one thing Gunner really cares about - Firearms. Pistols. rifles, cannons - whatever it is, if it uses gunpowder and shoots something, Gunner likes it. Gunner has a strange relationship with Ceres, AKA the Cerulean Sea. He is often heard swearing by her name, cursing her, praising her, and generally shouting nonsense about Ceres in any given situation. Appearance He is a lean-framed Ilytian man, with skin described as "black as gunpowder" and "midnight black," "aboriginal features," wiry black hair pulled into a ponytail, and a scattered, wild, dark, curly beard. The first time he encountered Kip and Gavin during the series, he wore short loose trousers cut off below the knees and an "incongruously fine royal blue jacket," with no shirt. When next he appears, when he pulls Gavin out of the ocean, he wears a finely brocaded doublet worn open over his bare chest and loose sailor's pants The Black Prism Gunner first appears as a musketeer on a ship attempting to sink a skimmer on which Gavin, Liv, Ironfist, and Kip rode. He is the only man on the large ship who was able to hit the skimmer, and was nearly able to kill Gavin when he had a clear shot on him, but Kip was able to fill Gunner's rifle with superviolet Luxin, jamming it and causing a misfire. The Blinding Knife Gunner appears at the very end of the novel, picking up Kip and Gavin after they fall into the Cerulean Sea. He takes the Blinding Knife and presses Gavin into slavery on his ship, tossing Kip back overboard. The Broken Eye Gunner sails the Cerulean sea, killing sailors, taking names, and plundering loot in classic pirate fashion. During the travel time between battles Gunner spends his time testing out the muskets on the Blinding Knife. He finds they do not need to be reloaded, as the bullets seem to magically appear in the barrel, though they do need gunpowder added to function properly. To demonstrate his marksmanship Gunner has Gavin hold an apple in his mouth and makes the shot from across the deck, while the ship is rolling on the waves in the high sea. When the ship is raided and the slaves revolt, Gunner is taken hostage by his own men. The Blood Mirror Gunner is largely absent from the events of The Blood Mirror, though he appears at the end of the novel trading the Blinding Knife for a glorious ship: The Golden Mean. The Burning White Gunner captains the ship taking Gavin Guile to White Mist reef, demonstrating his astounding prowess in using ship and cannon to navigate the reefs and fight off sea demons. He nearly succeeds in making a miracle pass into the reef, but is thwarted at the last second by a sea demon smashing the ship from behind. Gunner is stranded on the wreck of the Golden Mean with nothing but his favorite Cannon. After Gavin finishes his conversation with Orholam and leaves for the Chromeria, Gunner is picked up by a sea demon along with the part of the ship he was stranded upon. He arrives at the battle of the Chromeria, using his cannon to incredible effect to snipe the Color Prince's forces. Near the end of the battle Gunner makes a miraculous shot with his cannon, curving a cannonball between two buildings over a great distance in an attempt to kill Abaddon.Category:PoV Characters